Beginning with chips and semiconductors in the 1970s and Apple computers in the 1980s, the 1990s gave birth to the Internet and a wave of tech startups – like Amazon and eBay – cementing Silicon Valley as the world center for technology research and development. Located in the San Francisco Bay area of California, Silicon Valley – named after the Santa Clara Valley – emerged due to a concentration of available venture capital and its entrepreneurial ecosystem, which welcomed disruptive innovation. However, being the center of tech startups and global technology companies comes at a cost – namely the increased cost of real estate.

With real estate prices in the Silicon Valley at a record high, many tech companies are turning to Austin. Nicknamed the ‘Silicon Hills’ – for the Texas Hill Country, west of Austin – a combination of factors makes it attractive to tech companies. These factors include affordable living, low unemployment, high tech salaries, venture capital funding, and the presence of existing major tech companies, such as Dell, Intel, and Samsung. In addition, the Kauffman Foundation recently named Austin – in its entrepreneurial spirit – the “No. 1 city in the U.S. for startups two years in a row.”

The culture of Austin is ripe for technology startups ready to disrupt with innovation. It is renowned for its support of small businesses and unique conventions, staying true to the town’s slogan to “Keep Austin Weird.” CNBC also named Austin the Best Place to Start a Business in 2016, due to “the cost of doing business, quality of life, labor force and diversity.” Austin also ranks as one of the top areas for venture capital investors with over a dozen startup incubators around the metropolitan area, including Moove-it’s first Austin home, Capital Factory.

Since our expansion in January 2016, we have enjoyed a mix of corporate and startup clients, working among the best innovators in the United States. We are thrilled to be celebrating our two year anniversary of developing software in the heart of the Silicon Hills! Stateside and near-shore, our team is ready to help innovators bring their concepts to reality through expert software development.